Weight In Gold
by Chloe Silvers
Summary: Written for Day One for 30 Days of Sterek. Prompt: "I'll Wait."


Derek could feel them slipping away from him. He thought that by being honest when he was recruiting them, that it would help solidify a foundation. It's not exactly like he had someone telling him how to do it. He came from a family of werewolves that were born, not converted. It made the bond between brothers and sisters closer, something more.

Derek saw the instant that Boyd told Scott that he wanted to be like him that he had brought helpless people into a family, and that it wasn't good enough for them. He took them away from the house when it wasn't safe, and tried to do his best to keep them alive. They complained when he tried to make sure that they wouldn't repeat his mistakes.

He drilled two things into their heads- that learning to fight would keep them alive, and that finding an anchor would help keep everything in control. They were the same rules that his own father taught him, and it was the same training that he tried to pass on to them. They didn't see how important it was, they didn't take it seriously. The only one who found an anchor was Isaac, and he had spent most of his time hanging around Scott than sticking by Derek's side.

He didn't want to stay too emotionally attached to them, but it was something that couldn't be helped. When he was surrounded by all of them, he felt closer to being home again than he had in a long time.

The second they started to drift away, he felt like he was floating in a canoe in the ocean, letting the water carry him away instead of trying to paddle forwards to some sort of destination.

He almost laughed at the veterinarian's face when he warned Derek not to trust Peter. It was like the word was in a different language. There was no translator or dictionary available, all that was left to do was nod his head and let the guy have his fun.

Trust. Love. Friendship. Family.

They were just words. They didn't mean anything, they didn't hold weight. The only thing that did was guilt. He was responsible for the death of his family. He was responsible for why Peter was the way he was. He was responsible for the death of his Alpha, the death of his big sister.

And there Deaton was, telling him not to do something that would be a luxury. Some advisor he was.

If he was really Laura's advisor, then why did Derek feel so alone? Why wasn't anybody checking in with him anymore? Why didn't he have anyone to check in with him? Isaac wasn't picking up the phone, and Derek had to drive up to the high school to make sure that he was alive. He found him going up some stairs with Scott, laughing. So Isaac wasn't dead.

Erica and Boyd were gone, and all Derek had was this car in this parking lot. He gripped the steering wheel and was about to shift gears when someone knocked on the window.

Stiles.

He unrolled the window. "What do you want?"

Stiles crossed his arms over the window. "You know you already graduated from here right? So it's going to look a little creepy if you just drive by here and stare at kids for an hour without an agenda. You should be thanking me- I'm keeping you safe!"

"I was just driving around." Derek said quickly

"You were checking on the pack."

"I was going to the store."

"You don't have any groceries and the school's out of the way."

"I was getting gas on the way to the store."

"They're fine, by the way. And I'm doing good too, thanks for asking."

"I didn't", Derek said. "I'm going now."

"Oh good", Stiles told him, opening the door and hopping inside. "You can take me home. I was going to walk, but I like this idea much better."

"Fine", Derek grumbled, changing gears as he shut the door.

He drove silently for five minutes before Stiles spoke.

"My car's in the shop because of the whole Jackson thing, in case you were wondering."

He wasn't sure why Stiles was bringing it up. Did he want Derek to pay for it or something? "That would explain it", he said, making a left turn.

"This is kind of a role reversal, isn't it? Good thing I haven't been shot."

Why was Stiles being nice to him?

"Why are you here?" Derek asked abruptly

Stiles shrugged. "Scott's spending a lot of time with Isaac these days. Thought you could use a friend."

Derek winced at the word. "I'm fine."

"Are you?" Stiles asked. "Because I've never seen you look so uncomfortable."

"I just have…things to do", Derek told him.

"The store? Dude, you can drop by the store, we can do a little shopping. Don't let me get in the way."

"No, that's okay."

"What were you going to get, anyway?"

He looked at the back of the phone Stiles pulled out. "Apples."

"Huh. Didn't see you as much of a fruit and veggies guy. So I hear that there's an Alpha pack in town. What's going on with that?"

The possibility that Erica and Boyd were killed by them was eating at Derek since he saw that symbol on his door. "Nothing." He cleared his throat. "Nothing to worry about."

Stiles looked over at him. "Really? Wow. Okay, pull over."

"What?" Derek asked

"Pull over. Just do it."

Derek shrugged and complied with his demands.

"You really don't trust me, do you? After all this time? You can't even tell me what you know, without there being some sort of attack?"

"There's not much to say at this point."

"I've saved your life once or twice. I kept you in my bedroom so you'd have a place to crash when the police were looking for you for months. You know, harboring a wanted fugitive is a crime. And you still don't trust me with something as stupid as information? Or just a plain old emotional update?"

"I don't trust anyone", Derek said automatically.

"So I shouldn't be offended? Or should I try extra hard to be special? Do I get a special prize when I get there?"

Derek rolled his eyes and checked around him to make sure that it was okay to drive again. The road was empty. "You're ridiculous", he said as he started driving again. He changed to a higher gear. If he sped, he could get Stiles home in five minutes and end this pointless conversation.

"Do I have to get a certain amount of gold coins and them cash them in for a trust card?" Stiles asked

"No."

"Damn, I was going to get those little chocolate gold coins. You know, the ones you peel back and then eat?"

Will this kid shut up? "I'm familiar with the gold coins, Stiles."

"They're magically delicious!"

"Those are Lucky Charms", Derek pointed out.

"And I just came up with a better use for their advertising slogan. It would be the gold at the end of the rainbow."

"And…we're here." Derek said, slowing the car down in front of Stiles' house.

Stiles grabbed his backpack and opened the door. "Thanks. Oh, and Derek?"

"Yeah?"

"About that trust thing. I'll wait. Until it's okay. You let me know when I have enough gold coins."

He shut the door and left before Derek could say another word.

Determination. That wasn't a word that he needed translated. He nodded to himself before driving away.


End file.
